This is a nightmare scenario for Democrats. This summer, demonstrators disrupt party conventions. They clash with the police. Confusion seems to be here to stay.
It may not be imaginary. Activists are preparing to descend on Chicago for the Democratic National Convention this summer as protests against Israel's war in Gaza continue to intensify, especially on college campuses.
The very idea transports some Democrats back to 1968, when their convention, also held in Chicago, was overshadowed by infighting and violence between police and anti-war demonstrators. . Many voters watching the nightly news at the time had the impression that a party could not control its own delegates, especially if the country was engaged in an unpopular war.
Protests over the Israel-Hamas war could also complicate Democrats' message to this year's convention and to President Biden. President Biden has passionately criticized the Republican Party for being too soft on chaos and disorder in American society. Last week, Fox News and other conservative news outlets repeatedly aired demonstrations that made it seem like the country was in crisis. Columbia University sent police to arrest students on campus. Demonstrators shout “Genocide!” Toward President Biden, who is suspending his campaign activities. Demonstrators chained cars to block traffic, causing traffic jams.
“The whole Republican message is, 'The world is out of control and Biden is not in command,'” said David Axelrod, a Democratic strategist and adviser to former President Barack Obama. “They will exploit every image of anarchy to incite and support it.”
Certainly, there are differences between now and 1968, including the way the tournament is run. They are much more tightly programmed and have less, if any, floor fighting.
And the United States has a long and vibrant history of embracing noisy political protest toward idealistic ends.
But the 1968 convention stamped a legacy on the Democratic Party that will be difficult to shake.
The convention was preceded by the assassinations of Robert Kennedy and the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., but after President Lyndon B. Johnson decided not to run knowing he could not win, Hubert Humphrey won the Democratic nomination.
Anti-war protests also made the country nervous. By the late 1960s, the majority of Americans opposed the Vietnam War. However, the anti-war movement alienated many voters and Some demonstrations turned violent.
“By 1968, the majority of Americans were actually opposed to the war,” said David Greenberg, a professor of history and journalism at Rutgers University. “But they were even more opposed to the anti-war movement. Many of the anti-war demonstrators were peaceful, but many were not.”
Outside the 1968 Democratic National Convention venue, protesters mocked the proceedings. Some threw red paint to imitate blood. Others occupied major thoroughfares to block traffic. The Yippies nominated a pig for president.
Police were called out as demonstrators set up camp in a local park. The ensuing violence shocked the nation and ultimately contributed to Richard M. Nixon's election victory.
What Americans learned from the scenes of police and protesters fighting in the streets was not that civil disobedience is a healthy part of American democracy, but that enough was enough, says Columbia University. said Timothy Naftali, who teaches public policy at .
“Whether they accomplished anything other than ensuring Richard Nixon's reelection is debatable,” Naftali said.
The nightmare scenario for Democrats is a chaotic situation similar to the 1968 convention.
“We have a big anti-war movement, there's a lot of commotion, there's a convention in Chicago. What could possibly go wrong?'' Mr. Axelrod asked half-jokingly.
Protesters have disrupted campaign efforts by Biden and other Democrats for months. They have stuck their hands to walls and disrupted speeches, including one at a high-profile fundraiser for the president at Manhattan's Radio City Music Hall last month. At one point during the event, Mr. Obama challenged a heckler and advised him, “Don't just talk without listening.” It received a huge round of applause.
Donald J. Trump has never shied away from portraying his political opponents as too soft on unruly protesters. During the 2020 campaign, Mr. Trump sought to position himself in the tradition of Republicans like Mr. Nixon, who cast themselves as guardians of law and order. Trump even declared himself a “law and order president.”
He was taking a page from the playbook of former President Ronald Reagan, who, as governor of California, ordered the National Guard to disperse student protesters at the University of California, Berkeley in 1969. The incident, which came to be known as “Bloody Thursday,'' resulted in approximately 2,000 security forces entering and over 1,000 arrests. And Reagan's political stock rose.
What worked for President Reagan may not work for today's Republican Party, even because of Trump. Support for the mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
“It really disrupts what the Republican Party was known for,” Naftali said.